The Bhandari Brothers, Anup and Nirup, rose to fame with the critically-acclaimed blockbuster, RangiTaranga. The duo worked together, with Anup directing the film, Nirup in the lead and their father, Sudhakar Bhandari as the executive producer.
Nirup played the role of Gautam Suvarna/Siddarth and put on weight for this role. Next came Rajaratha , which was released in Kannada and Telugu. While the Kannada version had Puneeth Rajkumar giving the voice-over, the Telugu version featured Rana Daggubati’s voice. The film was another in-house production with Anup’s story, screenplay, lyrics and music and Nirup in the lead. He played a college student, and says he lost a lot of weight to look like one.
Now comes Aadi Lakshmi Puraana (ALP), which will be released on July 19. This is the first time we see the Bhandari brothers working with a new banner. Nirup teams up with Radhika Pandit playing an undercover cop. The film is directed by Priya V, who has worked with Mani Ratnam and Suhasini Mani Ratnam before venturing out independently. Priya has worked in Tamil films such as Kanda Naal Mudhal and Kannamoochi Yenada, and now makes her Kannada début with Aadi Lakshmi Puraana (ALP).
Creating magic
Nirup says he had fun working with the ALP crew, who were predominantly women. “Priya wanted me to look muscular for ALP . I had still not recovered from my wrist fracture which happened on the sets of Rajaratha. I could not even lift my tooth brush, so to get the right look for the film, we came up with the idea of working out with a cable tied around my forearm,” shares Nirup. Although he will not be seen in a policeman’s uniform, Nirup’s character attempts to bust a drug racket in the film. “I have deliberately tried not to look like a cop in this film,” says Nirup.
Talking about working with Tara, a National Award-winner, and Suchendra Prasad, the actor says, “They play my parents in the film. Their characters are hyper and over-the-top. It is different from my parents, who don’t react to anything. So, for me, it was amusing to act with these two great actors.”
This is also the first time Nirup works with a director other than his brother. He laughs when he says, “Working with Priya was like a roller-coaster ride. When Anup said ‘good’, it meant we were good. But with Priya, it was a bag full of emotions. She is very expressive. The moment I walked into the sets, I would know what her mood was. If she was running around, it meant things were fine. If she was sitting down, it meant all was not okay,” he recalls.
“When she said ‘maaagic’ on the first day, we were thrilled that we had done a brilliant job. It was only when she asked for a retake we realised that it was her way of saying ‘cut’,” laughs Nirup, concluding in addition that the entire team would joke saying, ‘Let us create some magic on the screen’!
A different collaboration
Anup Bhandari is a techie-turned-director, writer, lyricist and composer.
He has written the lyrics for ALP and has composed three songs.
This is the first time Anup is working with an outside producer. “It was a welcome surprise when Rockline approached me for the music. The music took shape in my mind even as I was reading the script. The script had in-built situations, which made it easy for me.”
His song ‘Manase Muthala’ has become a chart-buster even before the release of the film.
Anup, who is known for using pure Kannada in his songs, says he has changed his style for ALP. “This time, the lyrics will go with the light and humorous mood of the film,” he revels.
Writing lyrics is easier for him because... “It all depends on your state of mind, connection and inspiration. There are days when you sit the whole day and cannot write a single word. Then there are days when the moment you sit down, words flow and you write for hours!”
Anup will next be directing actor Sudeep.
